Shinsudol

What is saju?

  1. Four pillars of your birth

    Saju means "four pillars": the hour, day, month and year you were born. Each pillar has two characters, so your chart has eight.

    How to read the four pillars

    Example: born 8 a.m., Feb 5, 2005, Seoul

    HourDay (you)MonthYearTop庚Gyeong庚Gyeong戊Mu乙EulBottom辰jinDragon申sinMonkey寅inTiger酉yuRooster
    • Top characters come from 10 heavenly stems: the energy that shows on the outside.
    • Bottom characters come from 12 earthly branches, the 12 zodiac animals: the energy you carry inside.
    Hour
    Future: children and those who come after you, plans, results, the you to come
    Day (you)
    You: the top character is you; the bottom is the seat of your closest person, like a partner
    Month
    Setting: parents and siblings, your birth season, how you work and live
    Year
    Roots: ancestors, childhood and the wider world around you

    That's how each pillar gets its name. Birth day Gyeong-sin = Gyeong (Metal, white) + Sin (Monkey) → White Monkey.

    The saju year starts at Ipchun (Feb 4 in 2005), not January 1. Feb 5 is after Ipchun, so the year pillar is 2005's Eul-yu. Someone born on Feb 1 would still have 2004's Gap-sin.

    See all 10 heavenly stems and 12 earthly branches

    10 heavenly stems: two for each element, one yang (bold) and one yin (gentle). Stems of the same element share a color.

    Wood甲Gapyang乙EulyinBlue
    Fire丙Byeongyang丁JeongyinRed
    Earth戊Muyang己GiyinYellow
    Metal庚Gyeongyang辛SinyinWhite
    Water壬Imyang癸GyeyinBlack

    12 earthly branches: the 12 zodiac animals.

    子JaRat丑ChukOx寅InTiger卯MyoRabbit辰JinDragon巳SaSnake午OHorse未MiGoat申SinMonkey酉YuRooster戌SulDog亥HaePig

  2. Five elements, and one of them is you

    Each top character carries one of five elements: wood, fire, earth, metal or water. The top character of your birth day is your Day Master, the element that is you. The rest is the world around you.

    The Shinsudols · Five guardians

    The five elements also link to five traditional colors and five directions. Shinsudol adds the five guardian beasts of those directions: your element (your birth day's top character) → its color → your guardian.

    • Blue Dragon (Wood)East · Spring · Blue
    • Red Phoenix (Fire)South · Summer · Red
    • Yellow Dragon (Earth)Center · Between seasons · Yellow
    • White Tiger (Metal)West · Autumn · White
    • Black Tortoise (Water)North · Winter · Black
    Why there's more than one animal
    • Your Korean zodiac sign: the animal of your birth year's bottom character. (Example: Eul-yu → Rooster)
    • Pillar animals: each pillar is named after its bottom character's animal. (Example: birth day = White Monkey)
    • Guardian: not part of traditional saju itself. It's Shinsudol's character, linking your element to its traditional color and the guardian beast of that direction. The five beasts and five colors are Korean tradition. (Example: Gyeong = Metal = white → White Tiger)

  3. An old tradition, read the Korean way

    Saju is a birth chart that goes back over a thousand years. In Korea it's part of everyday life, from New Year fortunes to checking chemistry.

  4. Calculated, not guessed

    We work out your pillars from official Korean astronomical data, adjusting for daylight saving time and your birth city's sun time. No AI guessing.